Cameras and LA Trip!

May has been a very busy month for me... actually, this whole year has been super busy for me so I think its time for a well deserved break and I think June will be a month that I go exploring and relaxing, hopefully some place HOT away from all this rain. I love Vancouver but I think I am lacking in Vitamin D.

So E and I have decided to hit up LA to soak up some sun take a tour of the beautiful beaches and its lovely boardwalks. We will also be eating our way through Burbank, LA and capturing all of it with some new and sexy equipment - most notably the Canon S95 and the Canon 60D. I think its a well deserved upgrade from our Nikon D100 which we have had for a long time.

E and I will be keeping track of all the restaurants we go to in LA and once we get the itinerary set up we will post it here, if anyone has any knowledge of where to go please feel free to leave a comment! We will be in Burbank, LA =)

P.S. Mark I hope you have a wonderful time biking across Canada! Keep us updated.

biketouringcanada.blogspot.com

The Eatery

The truth to my disappearance from the intrawebs definitely consists of more than just massive taco consumption at Taco Time. C'mon, I have more of a life than that. Really. Aside from lurking around food courts, I have been immersed in the wonderful world of Pokemon. It wasn't until this version that I realized how competitive Pokemon can really be. For instance there are things like effort values and individual values to be calculated, and you even have to take each Pokemon's specific natures into consideration. So for the past couple months since the release of Pokemon Black and White, I have been diligently learning and training my team. Of course, no one comes to this blog to read about pokemon training, but if you want to battle, give me a shout. Since we're talking about anime anyway, I'm also a big fan of a few other animes like Bleach and Lucky Star, although I'm not an anime maniac like B. So naturally, when we heard of a restaurant with a cartoon/anime theme, we died a little inside. I forgot how we discovered The Eatery, but I'm glad we did.

Upon walking into The Eatery, you can definitely tell that they stay true to their slogan: The funkiest Japanese place. The majority of the furniture consists of wooden tables and chairs, but it's the décor that makes it stand out as the funkiest place to eat sushi. They have pop-art motifs of Chairman Mao hanging on the walls and various cartoon characters dangling from the ceiling - including a giant glow in the dark rainbow unicorn. Pretty awesome. Our table, like every other, had a lit candle supported by a Dad's Root Beer bottle and a giant collage of small toys hanging above it. Even more awesome. I spotted a Wartortle. So much awesome it has reached level over 9000. The menus and it's items also followed the same cartoon theme, with an anime and traditional cartoon characters influence. There were so many unique and amazing sounding things on that menu, that it took us a really long time to decide what to eat. B and I ended up ordering three rolls: Erotica, Rated X, and Miss Piggy; 6 saba nigiri sushi; and a plate of Beef Yakisoba. I can't exactly remember what E and K ordered, except for a few rolls including the Volcano roll and a plate Chicken katsu curry - which was huge and worth the money.

The table they gave us was ridiculously small for a party of 4 - that or they weren't expecting us to order that much. All our food came more or less around the same time and we literally had no room to eat. The Beef Yakisoba was packed full of vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and zuchinni, but not so much beef. I'm not a big fan of Yakisoba so I can't say much, but B seemed to really like it. Before even finishing our Yakisoba, we had to shuffle and go all tetris-mode on the table to fit in our plates. Out of all the rolls, the Erotica roll would probably be my favourite. It had avacado, salmon, and tuna cascading down the top of  a cali-type roll and then a sprinkle of roe and mayo to finish it off; in my opinion, it resembled a "rainbow roll" at other sushi places. My next favourite, X-rated roll, was a maki-style roll with tuna, salmon, crab, unagi and then topped off with some spicy misonnaise. This roll was not as spicy as I thought it would be, but the sauce definitely overpowered everything else. Maybe it is because I'm really sensitive to heat-levels and that made me unable to taste anything else in that roll. The Miss Piggy roll, although it sounded good (bacon, scallops, asparagus, roe, and unagi sauce), was just okay. The asparagus made it really... weird. Instead of the Miss Piggy roll, B and I should have ordered one of their deep fried rolls like the Volcano. Tuna, scallops, salmon, avocado and then - get this - deep fried tempura style.    

At the end of our meal, everyone was stuffed and just wanted to lay down and sleep. That's how full we were. Between 4 people, the total came to around $86.00. I wouldn't say that The Eatery has the highest quality of sushi, but we would definitely go back again to try all the other rolls because the selection of sushi is definitely different from what is offered out there.

El Taco

My cravings seemed to follow a Mexican theme because for the past month, I have been eating tacos at Taco Time; two beef tacos - sometimes three - and a regular mexifries deluxe. Which explains the lack-of-almost-non-existent blogs. So no, I am not dead. I have just been eating tacos at Taco Time. Ah, it's been a while.

There are only so many tacos you can consume at a food court before you realize that it's just not the same as the real thing. You know what I mean? It is almost like a smoker trying to quit with Nicorette - a piece of gum is just not the same as a cigarette. Not that I know what it really feels like to quit smoking, but I would assume it is the same as suppressing a craving with a substitute. So when I went with B to Misako the other day and passed by El Taco, my jaw dropped, heart skipped a beat, and all I could think of was "Taco, taco, taco. Taco." When you walk into El Taco, the first thing you will probably see is a giant menu board above the cashier, and then take notice of the various Mexican trinkets and décor around the restaurant - including a couple bottles of Patron on a shelf behind the counter. I have never been to Mexico, but it felt rather authentic to me. After taking a look over their menu, we ordered the Five layer dip served with corn chips to share and of course, a Beef Taco for myself and then sat down at one of the many flower patterned tables to wait for our food. Oh yeah, we got a bottle of Jarritos as well. Why? Because it came in a glass bottle.

The chips and dip came first and it was bigger than we expected to be. Considering it was just an appetizer, there was a good amount of chips. B and I both didn't really like the dip because it had way too many beans. Keep in mind that my only real experience with Mexican food is from a food court, and this is the first time I have ever had five layer dip, so I'm not sure if the amount of beans in this dip was the norm. The other layers, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo (I am assuming this is some kind of tomato salsa) were really thin in comparison and was over powered by the taste of the beans. And the cheese that was supposed to be the fifth layer? Well, that was non-existent. We didn't get any cheese. We did, however, really like the corn chips. The were lightly salted, thin, and crisp - like a Dorito without the cheese. What do you call nacho's that aren't yours? Nacho cheese. Ha.

Not too long after, I got my taco and it was small and not in a hard shell the way I liked it. Doesn't matter though, because it was really good and surprisingly, really filling as well. The beef (seasoned and shredded) and beans was served on two soft corn tortillas and then piled high with lettuce, guacamole and pico de gallo. The corn tortillas were nice and chewy, doughy in a good way. I sprinkled in some Chipotle and Tomatillo salsas/sauces on top and that added a nice kick on top of the seasoned beef. I did have to scrape a bit of the beans out because it was too much for my tastes.

Overall, El Taco was definitely something different and I liked the change, but I still prefer hard-shelled tacos. What would have made me really happy though, was if they were to serve Churros. I have been searching for one for ages, and from what I can tell, Churro's have become extinct in the Greater Vancouver area. Likewise, Mexican joints are just as rare. If anyone has any recommendations - please do share!

What8ver Cafe

Finals are over. Finals are over. Finals are over. If I had to name one thing I learned in school that I would always remember it will be to never take a class with a final at eight in the morning. I walked out that classroom listing Hilary Clinton as the current governor of the Bank of Canada. Don't ask. Anyway. Yesterday night I took sometime out of my busy schedule of doing nothing to give What8ver Cafe another try because J has never tried their Ice-cream Toast before and Facebook did a really good job at advertising. This time however, I was smart enough to make a reservation beforehand and good thing I did - we were aiming to go around 10 but they did not have a table until 11.

The reason I say this is because last time we wanted to try What8ver, they were packed like usual. The server told us it was a fifteen minute wait when in reality, it was going to be more than that because there were already plenty of other people waiting ahead of us. We saw tables being turned over and over, and each time it wasn't ours. When we finally saw an empty table that was just sitting there waiting - we asked our server if it was ours and only then did she mention that there were a lot of reservations and we would have to wait longer. When I asked her how much longer, she couldn't even tell me an estimation. I had to ask her several times before she just uttered another "maybe fifteen minutes?" guess. So yeah, whatever. We left with a bad impression. This time our service was a lot better and more attentive - it was so much better that I wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that J and I were both carrying DSLR's. I have noticed that when you walk in to a restaurant with a fancy looking camera, you get treated a lot better. Maybe next time I should be more discrete about taking my pictures - like bringing the food to the washroom or something.

I really liked their menu design. It's clean, simple, and has a few nice floral accents. Of course, the appearance of the menu isn't as important as the items itself. What8ver is a small Taiwanese Bubble-tea type cafe that sells snacks and a nice array of dessert items like shaved ice, toast and waffles. K and T shared a Icecream toast, while J had his own. I've tried the toast before so this time I chose the Ice-cream waffle with a Calpico Green Tea with Green Tea Jelly; K had the Japanese Matcha with Pearls, T usually orders a slush and this time it was a Passion Fruit slush with Pearls, and J had Ovaltine Milk Tea with Tapioca noodles.

I really like What8ver's Calpico Green Tea. It's really refreshing and I would describe it as a light kind of drink; not too sweet and with just enough flavor. I've never had green tea jelly before and I actually really like it. It toned down on the sweetness because it adds a bit that bitter accent you get with tea. Every one else seemed to enjoy their drinks as much as I did with mine. Not too long after I got my waffle - which was more or less the size of the plate with an equally proportionate tennis ball sized scoop of ice-cream on top and chocolate sauce drizzle. The waffle itself was dense and a bit tough - almost bread-like. Taste wise, it was alright - nothing amazing and it got really sweet near the end. I probably would not order it again and just stick to toast and/or bubble tea. While in appearance and taste, the waffle was nothing special, the ice-cream toast was pretty impressive. The bread-box was filled with toast sticks coated in sugar, topped with vanilla ice-cream and then decorated with a strawberry, bananas, strawberry and chocolate sauce, an Oreo cookie and Pocky sticks. From what I remember from my first visit, the toast sticks were nice and crunchy. With no syrup or anything, you might get a sense that it'll be very dry, but that's where the ice-cream comes in!

Ice-cream Toast!

Overall, I like What8ver. I'm not very sure about the service because at the moment it seems like a hit-or-miss kind of thing, but their prices are fair and cheap compared to other places like Estea (our bill came to about 36$ for four). What makes What8ver stand out really is their Ice-cream Toast. I believe their the only one in this area that has that - actually, it isn't even on their menu, you have to ask for it specifically.

P.S. I re-created What8ver's Ice-cream Toast with a bit of a twist to suit my liking. Check it out on my Kitchen blog, or click here.

 

Ice-cream French Toast

Before I had a chance to visit What8ver Cafe in Richmond, I saw pictures of their Ice-cream Toast all over Facebook. Every picture I saw made me want to lick my screen. Okay, it wasn't that extreme but I love bread and I love ice-cream; to combine the two together was like my ultimate dream come true. I don't know why that idea never occurred to me before. After trying the Ice-cream toast at What8ver, it seemed easy enough to re-create - but with a bit of a twist. While What8ver's version is crispy, inside and out, mines maintain the softness of the bread but still have that satisfying crunch you can get from the toasted bread-box. The toast itself is easy enough to make unless you want to go the extra mile and make your own bread. What I like most about this is that it is easy to change up the flavors to get whatever kind of toast you'd like.

Ice-cream French Toast
Yields ~ 2 Toast boxes.

1 loaf of unsliced bread (I prefer white)
3 eggs
1/2 cup of heavy cream or milk
1 heaping teaspoon of cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Additional
2-3 strawberries
1/4 banana
2 chocolate wafer sticks
chocolate ice-cream
chocolate sauce
Nutella
whip cream

Toast Box:  Preheat your oven to 300-350 degrees. Take the loaf of bread and cut it in half. Half a loaf of bread was the right sized box for me, but it can be easily adjusted to whatever size you like. To form your box, use a serrated knife and cut out the center of the bread by running it along the edges. Carefully pull out the bread - separating it from the crust. The neater you do this part, the neater your toast sticks would be. Cut the bread into rectangular bread sticks.

Heat up an oiled frying pan while you combine the eggs, cream, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla in a small bowl. Dip the toast sticks in the egg mixture, one at a time, with just enough to coat the bread; it shouldn't be soggy. Do this quickly or the bread will soak up too much of the egg. Place the dipped bread into the frying pan, flipping them every now and then until all sides are golden brown. I did mine in batches because my pan was not big enough, so while my second batch was just about done, I coated the toast box with left-over egg mixture and then popped it into the oven to be toasted. You can do this step whenever - depending on how toasted you want your box to be. It's also probably best to do this step just before you are about to serve it. And in the last few minutes, I also run it under the broiler to brown up the top.

Assemble: When everything - toast box and french toast sticks - are finished, you can assemble! Arrange the french toast sticks inside the bread box to form a kind of grid pattern. Drizzle a bit of chocolate sauce and nutella onto the toast sticks. Slice up the bananas and strawberries.

Place a scoop of ice-cream on the corner (or wherever else you would like it), add some whip cream on the side and then arrange your fruits. Finish it all off by drizzling a bit more chocolate sauce or nutella on top.

Variation: Aside from this version, I think a Matcha Toast box would be really good. Prepare the toast box the same way, but instead of chocolate ice-cream and drizzling sauce on top of the toast sticks, use red beans and Matcha icecream.